What is a BBS?

A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging messages with other users through public message boards and sometimes via direct chatting. In the early 1980s, message networks such as FidoNet were developed to provide services such as NetMail, which is similar to internet-based email.

Back in the early 90s I was turned on to the PC MS-DOS community. It was a fun time of WordPerfect 5.0, Lotus 1-2-3 and some text and light graphical games that came around the wayā€¦ Tapper, Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0 and other worthy softwarez; but things got real when I learned that you could dial-up to other computers, and bulletin board systems, to reach a world beyond your monitor. In the United States, and many other countries as Iā€™ve come to learn, you could find [amost] hundreds of BBSes in every area code! There were plenty of public domain [shareware] boards, but the elite user could find systems dedicated to more seedy topicsā€¦ HPAVC [Hacking, phreaking, anarchy, virus, cracking], warez [pirate software], the art and dem0scenesā€¦ you could literally find anything you sought out. As time went on, BBSes would get their own type of message networking; FidoNet FTNs and begin to connect in ways that werenā€™t originally possible. At the end of BBSes, many of them turned into early ISPs in the cities they operated in, as the sysOps already had a lot of the hardware that was needed - and many sysOps would earn a very good living serving up the bytes of data that their users lustedā€¦

Sounds boringā€¦ I can only take so many Lemmy messagesā€¦

Door Games were a huge part of BBSing. Door Games were brought to life with the ANSi graphics that BBSes used - while they werenā€™t fully graphical, they were exciting and multi-playerā€¦ something that you couldnā€™t get on PCs of the day. Popular Door Games were Tradewars 2002, Legend of the Red Dragon [LoRD], Barren Realms Elite, The Pit, Arrowbridge, DrugWars, Operation Overkill II and many m0re. For the time, they were literally worlds beyond what you could find on early 8088 machinesā€¦ and continued to be very popular even as graphics won over w/ the likes of the shareware kings. The reason? Multi-player games; there are many servers and BBSes that still get users lining up to play - in 2o23!

Phone lines are dead, how do we connect?!

After copper wires telephone lines went the way of the dodo, and TCP/IP took over the interwebs, the BBSes of the day mostly went offlineā€¦ but it would prove short-lived, as we soon learned how to connect the old BBS software up to TELNET and SSH - allowing them to be hosted on the web; no m0re phone bills to get you grounded!! All you need to connect today is an ANSi-capable terminal software. (Or, PETSCII for Commdore BBSes, AmigaFonts for Amiga boards or Atari support for Atari bbSesā€¦) There are a few of these that are developed for current machines:

Syncterm - Syncterm is the ā€˜bestā€™, as it has ANSi, PETSCII, C=, Amiga, Atari, RIP and SIXEL support.

Netrunner - Netrunner is a GREAT ANSI/Amiga terminal [About 80% of all BBSes] as it has anti-aliasing and the fonts look smooth and crisp.

MagiTERM - A decent terminal, developed by APAMā€¦ a BBS user that also develops door games and even BBS softwareā€¦

The easiest, if you run Linux or Windows, is Netrunnerā€¦ SyncTERM is a binary download for Windows and MacOS, but will require a compile on Linuxā€¦ donā€™t worry, tho - MeaTLoTioN of The Quantum Wormhole BBS has an awesome how-to/script that you can follow to compile it with ease!

  • You can also connect using MS-DOS, or other, software on real hardwareā€¦ there are many Wifi Modemā€™s to choose from, but Iā€™ll make you hunt for Telix or Terminate 5.0 on your own timeā€¦)

Theyā€™re all stupid stock boards - wheres the beef!?

Many new BBS users peruse The Telnet BBS Guide and are first surprised at how many BBSes are available to connect toā€¦ only to quickly find out that the majority of listed boards are stock setups without much substance or communityā€¦ but Iā€™m here to tell you that you just have to turn the r0cks and find the great BBSes out there; or, just connect to these:

2o fOr beeRS - This is actually my bbS!! We get about 30 callers a day, have all the popular FidoNet-FTNs and over 800 usersā€¦ come on by, 2oFB is a wild one. MORE Social, less Media.

20ForBeers.com:1337 TELNET :1338 SSH

aBSINTHE - Ran by the sysOp aNACHRONiST - heā€™s also a great ASCII artist and aBSINTHE is literally my favorite BBS of all time. Itā€™s an Amiga joint, ran on CNet BBS software. Skyraiders is a door game that heā€™s developed from scratch and is one of the very best doors Iā€™ve ever playedā€¦ you arenā€™t BBSing if yer not here!

absinthebbs.net:1940 TELNET

The Quantum Wormhole - Another mainstay of BBSes and home to MeaTLoTioN, the writer of that Syncterm script from aboveā€¦ its just a damn good BBS; clean, safe and solid. Some SIXEL graphics support if you look aroundā€¦

bbs.erb.pw:23 TELNET

Wizards Rainbow - Can you believe this one?! Shooter Jennings, yea THAT Shooter Jennings, is the sysOp! Furthermore, he writes custom Door Games and just introduced a new one called Phantasie Plaza! Its a LoRD-type RPG and is looking really nice. He also wrote a few other Doors; 1NS0MNIA - and hosts a Door Game Server that any sysOp can connect their BBS toā€¦ rock and roll w/ Shooter @ the rainbowā€¦

wizardsrainbow:23 TELNET

Dura-Europos - This one runs on an old Apple IIe BBS software - and is literally still hosted from Apple IIe hardware running at 9600 baud! Skip, the sysOp, does amazing things w/ that Appleā€¦ including a lot of Syncterm font switching and graphic wizardry - this one doesnā€™t have all the flashing lights and pizazz as some other boards, but when you see what he does with rudementary hardware - its amazing!

dura-bbs.net:6359 TELNET

SLACKERS BBS - The bad boys of BBSingā€¦ the assholesā€¦ the haters - and a damn solid BBS, too. (The sysOp, GnGRDR3DMan, doesnā€™t even care to pay for a domainā€¦ gangster!)

slackers.ddns.net:2323 TELNET

Black Flag - Hawk, the sysOp, never left BBSingā€¦ he is one of the original pirates, the original r0ckstars - and his family of BBSes are many. Iā€™ll only link to the main one, but it features RIP graphics if you wanna experience that - RIP never really caught on, but Hawk donā€™t care!! (You can find 5+ other Black Flag boards if you l00k for themā€¦)

blackflag.acid.org:23 TELNET

Frozen Floppy - This is a Commodore 64 BBS; youā€™ll have to have Syncterm, and youā€™ll have to select C64 or C128 as the ā€˜screen modeā€™. Youā€™ll be amazed at the 40-column PETSCII graphics, and the fact that C= users are still kickinā€¦ the art here is top notch, tooā€¦ C= heaven.

bbs.retrohack.se:64128 TELNET

Do I really wanna spend time on this sh*t?!

You do. Youā€™ll be amazed by the community of BBSing in 2o23 - I know this, because youā€™re hereā€¦ sysOps of BBSes are also OSS, privacy minded, federation, technology and Linux users! While very different from the Twitters or Facebooks of social media, BBSes offer something you canā€™t get on that shiny iPhone - community. I hope to catch you @ 2oFB, or on one of the many other BBSes still running today. GET S0ME!

If you have any questions about bulletin boards, please feel free to email me @ 2oFB or reply here; thereā€™s always someone willing to help, whether you want to become a user, a door game player or even a sysOpā€¦ youā€™ll find it all on a BBS near, or far, from you!

  • pAULIE42o
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  • pAULIE42o@beehaw.orgOP
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    1 year ago

    BBSes were the very first way to connect to other computers/systems. Wellā€¦ prior to BBSes is was possible to literally dial another user with a terminal program; the user you were dialing would answer the modem and all you could do was type to each other and send a file if neededā€¦ there were no menus, logins or ā€¦ anything; it just opened a TEXT connection with a protocol for transferring files.

    Christian Ward created the first BBS, CBBS, during a winter storm in 1979 - IIRCā€¦ you can still dial into that first CBBS board!! Iā€™d have to find the link, but there is a clone of the original out there for users to experienceā€¦ its very text based, but does have ONE message area (a message board) that users can post to.

    When I was in grade school, BBSes became the main way weā€™d connect with other peopleā€¦ in High School I ran my first Telegard BBS, and later switched to Renegadeā€¦ [bbs softwares]

    Its amazing that people still love the technology enough to run these BBSesā€¦ Iā€™ll never shut 2o fOr beeRS down - I hope you get a terminal software and dial out. I do host a terminal software right on my website, which you could find and connect to 2oFB @ http://20ForBeers.com:1339